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Page 308
pointed out. "My own belly churned. Do you think I wish to fear that Ela will end in such hands?"
"Nonsense," John said, almost laughing at the idea. His surface irritation was considerably abated by the thought of his sister-in-law in the hands of his henchmen, but the cold hate for Ian and Alinor lay coiled inside him like a snake.
"For me, perhaps," Salisbury replied, having no idea what had changed John's mood except that he believed his brother was warmed by realizing he could be a strong protector to Lady Ela. "For others who are not so sure of your love and favor, it is a more real fear."
"Oh, very well. There will be no more talk of it. I have told you already that I plan to make the best of the marriage. I will take no more than a tithe from Lady Alinor as a fine, and I will show de Vipont my favor."
"And I may come with you to Winchester?" Salisbury asked with a slight hesitancy. He feared the implication that he did not trust John, but that was indeed the case. John had lied to him often on such matters, concealing his rancor and then inflicting his revenge when Salisbury was elsewhere.
"Of course," John laughed aloud. "If you think you can get so far before Ela's heart begins to beat too hard or her head pains start again."
Salisbury laughed also. Perhaps his suspicion that John's spite was directed against Alinor was incorrect If so, the worst was over. "I do not fear it," he said gaily. "She started before me to meet us there. She looks forward to cossetting Isabella in her present condition. I declare, that news made her recovery more swift and sure than my homecoming."

Lady Ela was indeed in Winchester, settled into a house her husband had purchased soon after John became king. Salisbury owned similar houses in London and Oxford, other favorite royal places of residence. Of course, his rank and relationship to the king, and John's

 
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